Cannabis and psychosis/schizophrenia: human studies
Deepak C. D’Souza, Richard A Sewell, Mohini Ranganathan
European Archives of Psychiatry and Clinical Neuroscience July 16, 2009 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-009-0024-2 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Review Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Cannabis |
| Key findings | Argues that cannabis exposure is a 'component cause' of psychotic disorders, interacting with other factors but neither necessary nor sufficient alone; cannabinoids can induce transient schizophrenia-like symptoms in healthy individuals and exacerbate symptoms in those with established psychosis. |
Abstract
The association between cannabis use and psychosis has long been recognized. Recent advances in knowledge about cannabinoid receptor function have renewed interest in this association. Converging lines of evidence suggest that cannabinoids can produce a full range of transient schizophrenia-like positive, negative, and cognitive symptoms in some healthy individuals. Also clear is that in individuals with an established psychotic disorder, cannabinoids can exacerbate symptoms, trigger relapse, and have negative consequences on the course of the illness. The mechanisms by which cannabinoids produce transient psychotic symptoms, while unclear may involve dopamine, GABA, and glutamate neurotransmission. However, only a very small proportion of the general population exposed to cannabinoids develop a psychotic illness. It is likely that cannabis exposure is a “component cause” that interacts with other factors to “cause” schizophrenia or a psychotic disorder, but is neither necessary nor sufficient to do so alone. Nevertheless, in the absence of known causes of schizophrenia, the role of component causes remains important and warrants further study. Dose, duration of exposure, and the age of first exposure to cannabinoids may be important factors, and genetic factors that interact with cannabinoid exposure to moderate or amplify the risk of a psychotic disorder are beginning to be elucidated. The mechanisms by which exposure to cannabinoids increase the risk for developing a psychotic disorder are unknown. However, novel hypotheses including the role of cannabinoids on neurodevelopmental processes relevant to psychotic disorders are being studied.
Comparable studies
Other narrative reviews on cannabis, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| Causal association between cannabis and psychosis: examination of the evidence | 2004 | Review | |
| Cannabis sativa: A comprehensive ethnopharmacological review of a medicinal plant with a long history. General (historical and pharmacological review) | 2018 | Review | |
| Psychiatric effects of cannabis | 2001 | Review | |
| Beyond THC: The New Generation of Cannabinoid Designer Drugs | 2011 | Review | |
| Cannabidiol, a Cannabis sativa constituent, as an antipsychotic drug | 2006 | Review |
Citations in the library
Cited by 43
- Cannabidiol inhibits THC-elicited paranoid symptoms and hippocampal-dependent memory impairment Journal of Psychopharmacology October 5, 2012
- Gone to Pot – A Review of the Association between Cannabis and Psychosis Frontiers in Psychiatry May 22, 2014
- Medicinal cannabis for psychiatric disorders: a clinically-focused systematic review BMC Psychiatry January 16, 2020
- Endocannabinoid system and psychiatry: in search of a neurobiological basis for detrimental and potential therapeutic effects Frontiers in Behavioral Neuroscience 2011
- Effects of cannabinoid drugs on the deficit of prepulse inhibition of startle in an animal model of schizophrenia: the SHR strain Frontiers in Pharmacology 2014
and 38 more in the library
Cites 33
- Subanesthetic Effects of the Noncompetitive NMDA Antagonist, Ketamine, in Humans Archives of General Psychiatry March 1, 1994
- A Clinical and Metabolic Study of Acute Intoxication with Cannabis Sativa and its Role in the Model Psychoses Journal of Mental Science October 1, 1958
- Familial Predisposition for Psychiatric Disorder Archives of General Psychiatry November 3, 2008
- Preliminary evidence of cannabinoid effects on brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) levels in humans. Psychopharmacology March 2009
- Delta 9-tetrahydrocannabinol induces dopamine release in the human striatum. Neuropsychopharmacology February 2009
and 28 more in the library